Everything Old is New Again
by Candor
Summary: Henry and Jo have become friends and are leaning towards more. Memories, coincidence and confessions will be the key; but will that be enough? Travel along with the cast of the show during this AU adventure on that rocky road we call life. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. In which something temporary becomes more

Henry Morgan was an enigma. His outward appearance was always well-polished. He was very diligent in his work and was among the most requested of the city's Medical Examiners. He had joined the ME's office just three years before but had become one of the most respected members of its staff.

His powers of observation were finely tuned and were like that of the legendary Sherlock Holmes. His understanding of death in its myriad forms was unparalleled. His understanding of the living, ironically, was much less precise. The most puzzling thing was that at his age he should have been a guru on the subject due to his age; he was, after all, over two hundred years old.

"_Oh how wrong we were to think immortality meant never dying_" - Gerard Way

"Good morning, Detective!"

Detective Jo Martinez smiled at the familiar voice before turning around. "Good morning, Henry. You seem chipper this morning."

"Ah, that's because today is a happy occasion...Abraham's birthday, in fact."

Jo smiled. She and Henry had been working together for several months now and this was the happiest she had seen him. They had become close friends, possibly even best friends in that time. But one thing bugged her and she could no longer hold her tongue. "Henry, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why is it you don't call me Jo all the time?"

Henry's eyes widened. "Because, my dear Detective, it would not be proper without your permission."

"But you have called me Jo a few times."

Henry looked down. "I have, haven't I? I do apologize, madam. It was presumptuous of me."

Jo looked at him and then grinned. "Henry! You rascal!" She lightly punched his arm. "You better call me Jo from now on."

Henry nodded. "Yes, Jo. By the way, is Jo short for something?"

She looked at him and lowered her voice. "Yes..._Josefina_, if you must know. I hated that name growing up."

He smiled warmly. "Josefina is a beautiful name, and it suits you! It means 'God shall add' and I agree. You are most definitely a Josefina."

She looked down, blushing. "Stop it, Henry! You are going to embarrass me."

He looked concerned. "Jo, please look at me. I would never mean to embarrass you! I apologize."

She shook her head. "No need. Just…I get a few compliments now and then, but no one phrases them like you. So I guess I should just say thank you." She looked up at him and smiled. "Are you coming in?" She motioned towards the door of the precinct.

He nodded. "I have the report for the Rogers case and was taking it to the Lieutenant."

She smiled. "Well, let's go then." He followed her into the building and to the homicide floor to drop off the papers.

***Forever***

Joanna Reece had been in the NYPD for quite a long time. She had spent time in the 9th, 12th and 11th precincts. She had started out on patrol and made detective and finally Lieutenant before being placed in charge of the Homicide team. She had watched Mike Hanson and Jo Martinez make detective while she was one herself. When she joined the team here, Jo had just been named Lead Detective.

The death of Jo's husband in March of the previous year had devastated her. Joanna had watched as she came back to work and noticed that the interactions between Jo and her partner, Mike, had become strained. Mike was happily married and had an eight year old daughter and he had trouble relating to his partner and her loss. Enter one mysterious Medical Examiner with a gift for deduction. Joanna had allowed him to accompany her to a few crime scenes and watched as Jo started responding to him.

Joanna had a soft place in her heart for Jo Martinez, and she saw that the pairing was a positive. She also was a bit of a matchmaker, and had a feeling about the ME and her detective, so she met with the Chief Medical Examiner and explained her thoughts. The two had known each other for a few years so Joanna felt that she could speak freely. The two of them discussed a few options and agreed on one.

It was two weeks after that meeting that Henry Morgan found himself called to the Chief's office and named as a field consultant to the 11th precinct. He would still work autopsy when not actively working with Detective Martinez but cases from that team would take priority. It was termed an 'experiment' to see if fieldwork would help make ME's more efficient.

Joanna looked up as the elevator doors opened to see a smiling Jo and a pensive Henry step out. She looked down and smiled to herself; maybe it would work out. She grabbed a piece of paper and was pretending to read it when the knock came. "Come in!"

She looked up to see the ME standing in front of her. "Here are the results of the Rogers autopsy, Lieutenant. COD was, as we suspected, drowning; accidental, by the look of it. The tox screen shows a high level of alcohol; in fact it was over two times the legal limit. Ms. Rogers apparently had too much to drink and fell into her filled tub, hitting her head and knocking her out face down in the water."

She nodded and took his paperwork. "Good job, Doctor Morgan. The family will have some closure." She looked up at him and smiled. "Could you ask Detective Martinez to join us?" He nodded and went out to get her.

Jo walked into the office followed by Henry. "What's up?"

Joanna motioned for them to close the door and take a seat. "As you both know, your 'partnership' was an experiment when we started. Well, One PP and the mayor's office have reviewed the results and are pleased. We have the second highest closure rate in the city and they are quite happy with that. So it has been decided that you two will be made permanent partners for the foreseeable future and Detective Hanson will get a new partner. The two sets of partners will remain working together as a team. Henry, I've spoken with the chief ME and it's all worked out. Do you have any questions?" She looked at them and had to bite back a smile at the pleased look on their faces.

Jo listened to what had been said and found herself to be very happy. She loved working with Henry and she thought this would give them the opportunity to explore their friendship. A moment of recall stopped her short, though and she wanted clarification. "So is Henry now on the payroll of the department or is he still part of the OCME?"

Joanna couldn't stop the ends of her lips curling into a smirk, which she quickly forced away. "He will remain with the OCME but be assigned as a liaison to our team. Is there a problem with that, Jo?"

Jo quickly shook her head. "No...I just wondered if he would need to be armed."

Joanna sat back a moment. "That would not be a terrible idea as he will be out in the field quite a bit." She turned to Henry. "What do you think about that?"

Henry had avoided firearms since they had adopted Abe, but he was no stranger to them. He had been a crack shot when he had been a police officer in the early 1900's. "I've fired a weapon before but it has been quite some time. I'm not averse to the idea if it would keep my partner safe." He looked over at Jo then back to Joanna.

"Very well, then. I'll speak to the powers that be and we'll get you a weapon issued. You will need to qualify and be certified, but your partner has some of the best qualifications at the range so she'll help you get acclimated. You will also have to review some procedures and take a short exam to get you qualified. Okay, well, I'm sure you two have some things to do. I'll let you know when I have more details as to the weapon issue." Both Henry and Jo nodded and headed out of the office.

Jo headed towards her desk to log into her computer. She looked up at Henry and grinned. "Guess you're stuck with me, Dr. Morgan."

He winked at her. "How utterly dreadful, Detective! Call me if we get a case. I'm going to go talk to Lucas and let him know the situation." He glanced over at Mike Hanson. "You probably have someone to explain things to as well."

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. Hey...if we don't get called out would you like to grab lunch together? It'll be my treat!"

He pretended to think about it. "I suppose." He grinned. "One o'clock?"

"One o'clock." She watched him smile and walk towards the elevator to head towards the morgue. She looked over to Mike Hanson's desk and caught his eye. "Do you have a minute?"

He nodded. "Sure, Jo. What do you need?"

"Reece just told me that she is making Henry and I permanent partners. She also is bringing in someone to work with you."

"But Jo…I really liked working with you."

She patted his hand. "I did too, Mike. But you know the department…they like to shake things up."

He sighed. "Yeah. So…you and the doc…you okay with that?"

She sat for a moment. "Yeah, I am. It's not like I have a choice anyway. He's gotten better. And you have to admit, our closure rate has improved."

He looked at her. "I don't like that you have an unarmed partner."

She glared at him but chuckled. "Don't go all cave man on me, Hanson. I'm sure I could take care of my self if it were necessary…"

"But…"

"BUT, it isn't. Henry's going to be issued a weapon."

Mike's eyes widened. "They're arming the doc?"

She grinned. "Yeah. Seems he carried at one time, so he just has to qualify and take some procedure training."

"Huh. Who would've thought?"

"Yeah."

***Forever***

Henry entered the autopsy lab and found Lucas sitting at his computer typing up a report. Lucas looked up at him. "Hey there, Henry. You look chipper today."

Henry nodded. "Good morning, Lucas. I am feeling rather chipper this morning." He pointed towards the computer. "Are those the notes on the Selby case?"

"Yeah. I was just reviewing it to make sure I had the information correct. I'll send it to you in a few minutes."

"Good. Once you have it ready come into my office, please." He walked into his office and removed his scarf before heading for his chair. He sat back and thought about this morning's revelation and couldn't help but smile.

He was still smiling when Lucas knocked on the door. "Come in, Lucas. Have a seat." He looked up at Lucas' face and saw the worry there. "Nothing to worry about, just wanted to let you know something that Lieutenant Reece informed Detective Martinez and I about this morning. The folks down at headquarters have decided to make our partnership permanent, so what we were looking at as temporary has now become the status quo."

Lucas grinned. "So now you and the hot detective have no excuses, eh?"

Henry looked scandalized. "Lucas! Jo and I are partners and friends."

"You keep telling yourself that Doc."

They were interrupted by the phone ringing. "Dr. Morgan here."

"We've got a case, Henry. Meet me in ten minutes?'

"Of course. See you then." He hung up the phone and looked at Lucas. "Looks like you had better prep the lab. We have a case."

Lucas nodded and started gathering supplies as Henry left the building to go meet his partner.

**AN: This TV show has captured my attention. I am enjoying it and it has inspired me to write for a new fandom. This will be a multi-chapter (as that tends to be all that I can write, lol) and will center on the relationship between Henry and Jo (with plenty of appearances by the other characters). I will try to post at least weekly if I can based on how busy my job gets. I also try to wait to post a chapter until I have at least one more chapter completed and ready for my beta so that I always have a completed chapter waiting. I'm not sure how long this will be but the count I have into chapter three is more than 7500 words.**

**I do not own any of the characters from the TV show 'Forever'. They are owned by ABC and the respective production companies.**

**I hope you enjoy the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I hope you are enjoying this story. I am having fun writing it and am looking forward to sharing it with you all. To those of you who have taken the time to review I thank you. It is the only way to get better at storytelling! Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 2: _In which old memories are stirred._

Abby Morgenstern was locking the shop's door when she realized that in her hurry she had forgotten to set the alarm. She went back inside and armed it, turning back to head for the door as she only had a minute before it activated. She turned around and screamed as she felt a cloth cover her mouth and then she knew no more.

*** Forever ***

Henry was just pulling on his scarf when someone knocked on the door. He saw Abe head out into the shop and heard the bell over the door ring. Abe came back in followed by Jo Martinez. She smiled as him. "Good morning, Henry."

He smiled back. "Good morning, Detective."

Abe looked between the two and shook his head. "I'm going to clean up the breakfast dishes. Henry, remember that we have to go to the bank later."

Henry looked to his son. "I remember, Abraham."

"Will you ever call me Abe?"

"Absolutely not! Abraham is a perfectly good name and I know that your parents chose it specifically for you. Now, I will be here around noon and then we can head to the bank."

Abe rolled his eyes. "Alright! Jo, you make sure he remembers, okay?"

Jo grinned at the interplay between the two. "Okay, Abe. Now come on Henry...on top of yesterday's case we have another one."

Henry nodded. "After you, Jo."

She smiled. "See you later, Abe."

Abe grinned. "You two stay safe."

Henry nodded as he followed his partner out the door.

*** Forever ***

The crime scene was just over a block away so they chose to walk. Jo looked over at Henry. "So what was that all about, anyway?"

Henry looked over. "Which part?"

"The bank..."

"Ah, yes. Well, Abraham wishes to put me on all his accounts."

"Did he say why?"

Henry nodded and frowned. "He said he wants his money safe in case he...passes."

Jo stopped and put her hand on Henry's arm. "Do you think he is sick and hiding it?"

Henry turned to her and sighed. "No. He just had a check up and was told he was fine. I think it's just beginning to dawn on him that he is over seventy now."

Jo nodded and looked at him. "Are you going to do it?"

Henry looked at her. "I have to. He'll pester me to death if I don't."

She started to ask a question but he interrupted her. "Look, Jo...we'll talk later, I promise. Let's get the victim sorted out and you can come by tonight and we'll have dinner and then you can learn more about Henry Morgan than you would possibly want to know."

She seemed mollified by this and turned to start walking towards the crime scene with Henry by her side.

*** Forever ***

Jo was not mollified but the one thing she had definitely learned about her partner was that he could not be coerced into sharing things about his personal life. She had been working with him for over six months and still did not know the exact relationship between Henry and Abe. She knew that Abe's last name was also Morgan but with the age difference she knew that her original thought of brothers was wrong. Maybe Abe was Henry's uncle? She would have to think on that.

Henry lifted the crime scene tape and followed her into the store. Hanson was already inside talking to an older man. He looked over as they entered and nodded. Jo slowly looked at the scene and then watched as Henry pulled out a pair of gloves and headed for the body.

He asked the CSU tech to take pictures of the body from several angles and to focus in on certain things. Once that was done, he bent down to examine the body. Jo walked over and stood behind him. "Any verdict on COD?"

He looked up at her. "Well, based on first glance it looks like she died from blunt force trauma." He checked her neck and opened her eye and reclosed it. "Based on lividity it looks like she died somewhere between ten and eleven PM. I'll know more when we get her back to the lab."

"Damn, Henry...your TOD is right on." Henry looked up at Mike Hanson. "The victim's name is Abby Morgenstern, age was the manager and was locking up about a quarter after ten last night. She armed the alarm at 10:17 PM but there was no sign of forced entry. The killer had a key which was left in the outside of the lock."

Jo looked around. "Is anything missing?"

Mike nodded. "The guy over there is Alan Morgenstern, Abby's uncle and he owns the place. He was looking and he only noticed a couple of items missing." He flipped over his notebook and nodded. "He said that he is missing a wedding ring set worth about $7,500 and that's it."

Jo looked off into the distance. "So the victim is killed for a couple rings?"

Henry looked at her. "What was so special about that specific set?"

Hanson waved the owner over. "Mr. Morgenstern, was there anything special about those rings?"

The older man shook his head. "No. I bought them a few months ago at an estate sale. I knew they were good quality and after a cleaning and resetting a loose stone they were beautiful."

Henry looked at the older man. "Sir, do you remember if there were any customers especially interested in that set?"

He shook his head. "No, but I'm semi-retired and only worked Mondays and Saturdays. Abby worked Tuesdays through Saturdays."

Henry looked around and saw a camera. "Do you care if we look at your surveillance footage?"

The older man shrugged. "If it will help find who killed my niece, of course."

*** Forever ***

Henry and Jo were sitting in a conference room at the precinct with one of the techs from CSU reviewing the tapes from the jewelry store. Henry had determined that the time of death was close to 10:30 so they forwarded the tape to 10 PM and watched until almost 11 PM. There was no activity. That confused all of them.

Jo looked at Henry. "Are you sure she of the TOD?"

Henry nodded. "Positive...everything I looked at corroborated the time." He thought about it for a minute and turned towards the tech. "Can you try between 11 PM and midnight, please?"

The tech looked at him and nodded. "Sure, but just for my curiosity why?"

Henry smiled. "I noticed when we were in the store that the cameras looked older. Also, the security company said that the owner had to get them to come out to change security settings. He did not strike me as being technologically savvy, so may have never gotten the independent surveillance system set up for Daylight Savings Time."

Jo smiled. "Good call, Henry." He smiled back and they started to watch from 11 PM. At 11:10 the victim could be seen locking display cases. Then she went around turning out lights and headed for the door. At 11:15 she came back in and hit the alarm button on the system just as two masked men entered the store. She struggled with one man and managed to hit him just below the armpit on his left side. He back-handed her and she fell back into the display case she was standing next to, hitting the back of her head. The men went directly to the set of rings and used the victim's keys to unlock the case. After removing the rings they locked it back and then left, using the keys to lock the door.

Jo had the tech copy the appropriate part of the video and make a DVD of it for evidence. She and Henry went out to let Mike know and have him verify Henry's suspicions about the timestamps.

*** Forever ***

At 5 PM everyone was sent home for the night. The time-stamp issue had been confirmed; they were waiting on the search warrants to proceed. Henry helped Jo with her jacket and they headed for the elevator.

Jo walked into the elevator ahead of Henry and turned towards him. "You seem pretty deep in thought."

Henry looked up at her. "I suppose I am." He sighed. "It's the victim's name...Abigail Morgan...stern."

Jo's eyes widened. "Henry...I'm sorry. It didn't even occur to..."

Henry put his hand on her arm. "It's alright, Jo. I'll be fine; it was just a surprise."

"But you never let on."

"Well, I had hoped not to bother anyone with it."

The elevator doors opened and they walked out towards the exit. They walked down the steps to the sidewalk and Jo put her hand on Henry's arm. "Henry, please know that you will never be a bother to me. You're my friend and I care about you."

Henry nodded. "Okay. Would you like to join Abraham and myself for dinner?"

"I wouldn't want to impose."

Henry's lips twitched. "Come on, _Josefina_."

Jo raised an eyebrow, "Watch it, Mister." She grinned. "I would love to." They headed towards her car and drove off.

*** Forever ***

Jo sat back and smiled as Henry and Abe talked about their days. She knew that there was something that Henry was not telling her, but she was not going to push it just yet. When Abe asked Henry about their latest case, she noticed that Henry quickly excused himself. Abe looked at her and she decided to tell him. "Abe, I think today's case affected him. The victim's name was Abigail."

Abe looked towards where Henry had gone. "He's not let her go yet. I wondered what it was when he met me at the bank but he just waved it off."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "What happened with Abigail?"

Abe smiled at her but shook his head. "It's not my story to tell. Henry needs to explain it to you."

Jo closed her eyes. "Henry just closes up when I mention her. I know I'm the same way about Sean."

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "You two really need to talk; it would be good for both of you."

She nodded. "Henry is the first person I've felt I could talk to. I haven't felt as close to someone since Sean died as I do to him."

Abe chuckled. "Henry won't admit it but he feels the same way about you."

Jo sighed and opened her eyes. "Should I go after him?"

"He'll be on the roof." She smiled and got up. She leaned over and kissed Abe's cheek as she walked past him.

*** Forever ***

Henry had indeed headed to the roof. He sat down on the couch they kept up there in the warmer months and looked up at the stars. "Abigail, I've mourned you all these years without knowing where you even were or if you were dead. Then when Abraham got the official notice it broke open the wound again. I will always love you but I have to move on. Please don't hate me for caring about someone else. It's been over forty years." He bowed his head and let the tears flow as he said goodbye to Abigail.

A few minutes later he heard footsteps approaching and he dried his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jo. It was rude of me to run off like that."

Jo smiled. "Stop it, Henry. I know that it's difficult."

He looked over at her. "Would you sit with me?" She nodded and sat next to him. "It's difficult when you lose someone. I know you understand that because of your loss. I just have been able to make my peace with it, and that's due to you."

Jo put her hand on his. "You know I care about you, Henry. You've fast become my best friend and I'm happy with that."

Henry turned his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. "I care about you as well, Josefina. I want to thank you for listening to me and I want you to know that I care for you and am here for you as well."

Jo sat and looked at their hands. This man was so special and he helped her in ways that he could not understand. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at the stars. Sitting here three stories about the street with her best friend was like a balm to her soul. She sighed and squeezed his hand and felt when he placed a kiss to the top of her head. At the moment, she was at peace and could almost let herself feel happy.

*** Forever ***

The next day they had caught a break and saw on the surveillance tape that one of their suspects had a distinctive scar on the back of his right hand. The owner identified the scar as an owner of a competing shop that lost the bid on the estate sale. A few hours later they had recovered the rings and had secured a confession.

Henry had just finished his report when he had a knock on the door. He looked up to see Lucas enter. "Doc, do you have a minute?"

Henry nodded and waved towards a chair. "Is there a problem, Lucas?"

"Not really. I just wanted to see what you thought about being out in the field more often. I know you and Detective Martinez have become good friends but I wasn't sure what was drawing you to go to crime scenes."

Henry sat back in his chair and looked at his assistant. "Well, Lucas, I have developed a rather keen observatory skill. Beyond just the quick assessment of the victim, I can sometimes spot things that may take the detectives more time. Detective Martinez has come to trust in my skills but Detective Hanson is still a skeptic. I know it seems bizarre but as an ME we don't get to see the families of our victims and I appreciate that the detectives' abilities to provide some level of closure to the families is a beautiful thing."

Lucas closed his eyes. "So you are saying that not only do your observations assist but that you get a sense of closure along with the victim's family.:

Henry nodded. "That's it exactly."

Lucas stood and walked to the door. He turned back and grinned. "It doesn't hurt that your partner is a beautiful woman, though."

"Lucas!"

Lucas chuckled and walked towards the exit. "I'm just sayin'..."

Henry shook his head as he watched the younger man leave. He looked back down to the report he had just signed and sat back in his chair. He had to admit that Lucas was right; Jo was beautiful. She was the direct opposite of Abigail. His wife had porcelain skin and the lightest blonde hair. Josefina Martinez was raven-haired and dark skinned. Yes, she was indeed a very beautiful woman. But beyond that he had been drawn to her when he had looked into her dark eyes. There was a fire there, a passion. That emotion burned through the sadness and longing that was there due to the loss of her husband. He had seen that look on his face for years so he could easily identify another tortured soul.

He put his head in his hands as he thought back to the times he and Jo had been together. From the dozens of crime scenes to the bar celebrations that the whole team attended after a tough case, the two had grown closer. But it was the other times...the quiet lunches, the dinners at each others places, the walks in Central Park to feed the ducks and clear their heads; these were the times he cherished. These were the times when Henry Morgan got to meet the real Josefina Martinez, not the Detective that she became in front of others. He got to meet the woman behind the mask, and it only happened when they were alone.

*** Forever ***

Jo finished up her notes for the arrest report and added them to Mike's. She saved the file and attached it to an email for review then shut down her PC. She walked over to Reece's office and let her know that the report was finished. "It's in your inbox."

Joanne smiled at her. "Thanks. Any plans for the weekend?"

Jo shook her head. "Nothing firm. I am probably going to grab some dinner on the way home and relax for the night. I might do some shopping tomorrow but then I might just be lazy."

Joanne chuckled. "There are times when being lazy has its merits. Remember that you aren't due in until noon Monday; oh, could you let your partner know to come see me around 10 AM Monday?"

"Sure. Wait...why earlier than me?"

"He has an appointment at the range to get ready for his certification."

Jo's eyes widened. "That was quick!"

"Well, once I mentioned it to the Chief he got things moving."

Jo nodded. "Okay. I'll stop by his office on the way out. See you Monday."

Jo headed back to her desk to grab her blazer and purse. Mike had already headed out for Friday night dinner with his family so she made her way to the stairs. It was quicker than waiting on the elevator and she wanted to catch Henry before he left.

She walked into the morgue a few minutes later and headed straight to Henry's office. She was saddened to see that the lights were already off. Her shoulders slumped and she stood there a moment. In the back of her mind she had been entertaining the thought of asking him to join her for dinner. She wanted to celebrate the fact that their partnership was no longer temporary; she knew she should have asked him earlier in the day but she was nervous. She liked Henry and was afraid to admit it. She was finally starting to let her heart believe that Sean was dead. She was thinking about that when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she jumped away and turned.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, Jo."

"Henry! You scared me!"

He stepped towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I had forgotten my scarf and I saw you standing there. I should have let you know that I was behind you sooner."

She shook her head. "No, Henry...it's okay. I was just stopping by to let you know something and ask you something and...oh my God I'm rambling."

Henry smiled at her. "Josefina! Calm down!"

She looked at him and shook her head. "Not here, Henry. Here I'm _Jo_. Please."

He looked down. "Of course, _Jo_. Now you have something to tell me?" She relayed the message from Reece and he nodded. "Thank you. Now, you had something to ask me?"

Her eyes widened and she looked down to hide her blush. She hadn't meant to mention that. She was sure that he had plans. She looked up and sighed. "I was just wondering if you want to have dinner. With me." She winced and took a deep breath. "I mean, I know you probably have plans..."

"I'd love to."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Well, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Over the next two chapters we'll see a shift in their relationship and the results. I am currently writing Chapter 5 and do not see the end yet. I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to review and of course, please remember that only the plot and perhaps the occasional OC is mine. The rest belong to their respective owners.**

CHAPTER 3. In which new memories are made

They sat in the back of the little Italian restaurant sipping their wine and chatting like a couple that had known each other for a time that could be measured in years, not months. They laughed and told stories. Jo had found this place several years earlier when she was a beat cop and it had fast become a favorite. She was relieved when Henry had suggested it as she hadn't eaten there in years since her husband had been allergic to tomatoes.

"Where are you, Josefina?"

"Hmmm?"

"Jo...are you all right?"

She looked up at him. "Sorry, I was just wool gathering."

He grinned. "Don't worry yourself. Good thoughts, I hope?"

She smiled at him. "I was just thinking that I had not been here for a long time. It used to be one of my favorites."

He smiled at her. "Well, I'll endeavor to bring you here more often." Then his eyes widened. "I mean..."

"I know what you mean, Henry. And thank you for the sentiment. Coming here more often is fine with me." She left the unspoken _with you_ out of her reply.

The waiter stopped by to clear the dishes and leave the check. Henry pulled it to him before she had a chance. "Henry! I invited you!"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Jo, my mother taught me that a gentleman always treat a beautiful lady. You wouldn't want to get me in trouble with her, would you?"

She sighed. "No, I suppose not. But I know that your salary is close to mine...you can't always be paying."

"Josefina, stop! I have investments that have done well. I can afford a few meals, Besides, it was worth it to see you relaxed like this."

She couldn't stop the blush starting in her cheeks. The server came by and picked up the check. Henry sat looking at his wine glass like it held the secrets of the world and Jo studied him. He was always a mystery to her but lately he had been starting to open up to her and she enjoyed her time with him. He looked up and caught her studying him. "Go ahead and ask."

She looked at him and smirked. "What am I supposed to be asking?"

"I've no idea. You just had been looking at me like you were puzzled and I thought that you had something to ask me."

"Henry, I am puzzled. About you...about me...about...well, us. I can feel myself drawn to you but I don't know much about you even after these months. I'm puzzled that it has only been a little over a year since my husband died. Is that to soon to be thinking about someone like I am?"

"Josefina...oh, Jo! I can't answer the question about how long to grieve. That's different for everyone and it has nothing to do with how much you loved the one that you lost. As to the other questions? I admit that I am drawn to you as well. I'm a private person, Jo. I have more baggage than most and my secrets are not ones that I have shared with many. But I find myself wanting to share them with you. But here is not the place for those discussions. Tell me, do you have plans for this weekend?"

"Nothing more than laundry and grocery shopping. Why?"

He sighed. "If you and I are thinking about possibly becoming more than what we are today, you need to know more about me so that you can make an informed decision. Would you like to take a trip with me for the weekend?"

Her eyes widened. "Henry, I don't know."

He chuckled. "Where we are heading would have its own bedroom for you, Jo. I would never be so forward with you to make you wary of my intentions."

"Oh. _And what are those intentions_?" She grinned at him.

He rolled his eyes and went on like she had not asked that question. "I have a small house down in New Jersey. A place where we can sit and listen to the ocean and _talk_."

She sat there thinking. She hadn't been near the ocean to relax for a while. And to get the chance to find out more about her partner was inviting. "How long of a drive is it?"

"About two hours."

She looked at him. "When would you like to leave?"

He pulled out his pocket watch and checked it. "We could still get there this evening if you like, or tomorrow morning."

She thought about it. "Meet you at your place in an hour?"

He smiled. "How about I will pick you up in an hour at yours?"

She looked up in shock. "You have a car?"

He laughed. "Don't be so surprised, Detective. I don't drive in the city but yes I do have a automobile."

She shook her head. "Fine. My place in an hour."

He smiled and helped her into her jacket. "I'll be there, Jo." They left the restaurant each headed to pack for their impromptu adventure.

*** Forever ***

Abraham looked at Henry. "Are you sure, Dad?"

"It's time, Abraham."

"How are you getting there?"

"I'm taking the Volante."

"Wow! Full disclosure, eh?"

"Yes. Like I said, it's time. I think she can handle it. I _want_ her to handle it. I haven't felt like this about anyone since your mother."

Abraham moved and gave Henry a hug. "Well, if it means anything, you have my blessing."

Henry smiled. "Yes, well...it does mean something. Thank you."

Abe looked at the clock. "You better get moving."

"Indeed. I will call you from the house when we've arrived."

"Be safe and have fun, Dad." Abe watched Henry drive off and smiled to himself. "I hope she's ready for it."

*** Forever ***

Jo zipped up her duffel and put it by the door. She grabbed her purse and opened her front door just as a little red convertible pulled up. She was shocked to see Henry in the driver's seat. He hopped out and came to the door to get her bag. "Ready?"

She looked at him. "Um, yeah. Is that your car?"

He grinned. "That is not _just_ a car, Josefina. That is a 1986 Aston Martin Vantage Volante convertible."

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. I never would have believed that you would own a sports car."

He chuckled. "Prepare to be amazed, my dear."

They put her luggage in the car and headed off to Canal Street to take the Holland Tunnel out of the city. Due to the later hour, traffic was not so heavy that they spent much time crossing into New Jersey. They made their way to the New Jersey turnpike and then headed south for about an hour. Jo was enjoying riding with the top down and talking with Henry. He had some soft classical music playing and she watched as he would nod and smile at points during the performances.

He took the exit for the eastern Garden State Parkway and followed it to the Barnegat Road exit. A few minutes later he turned south on CR 607 and followed it until he turned left on Ocean Street. He followed it to the end and turned left into a driveway. Jo had nodded off so he woke her. "We're here, Josefina."

She stretched and smiled. "Sorry."

"Nothing to worry over. Let's head inside." She nodded and got out as he got their bags. She looked around.

They were in a short driveway with tall shrubs on either side. Just ahead she could see a two-story house with a deck on the upper level. After Henry had put the top back up and locked the car, she followed him towards the house. They entered into a laundry room that opened into a family room. He closed the door and locked it before heading farther into the house.

"It's not too big but it works for me; three bedrooms and two baths. Abraham comes down here about once a month on average and I make it here a few times a year."

Jo looks around as they take the stairs and smiles. It feels warm and comfortable. Her eyes widen when she reaches the top of the stairs. Across from her is a large window with a view of the ocean just beyond a fifty foot wide beach. "Wow."

Henry laughed. "That was my reaction exactly when I came to look at the place." He showed her where the bedrooms were and placed her bag in the guest bedroom. He then took her out on the deck. She walked over and leaned against the railing, enjoying the smell of the sea and the warm breeze on her face.

"It's beautiful."

"Well, I think I will turn in. In the morning, we'll head back up the island a bit to a small cafe that has the best breakfasts, and then we'll come back here and spend the rest of the day talking." They made their way back inside and after making sure Jo knew her way around Henry leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Pleasant dreams, Jo. Please wake me if you need anything."

She shyly nodded and watched as he went into his bedroom and closed the door. She made her way into the guest room and took out her toiletries and something to sleep in. She ran through her evening routine and then went back to put the clothes she had worn that day in her room. She sat on the edge of the bed and thought about the things that Henry had alluded to. She tried to sleep but being in a strange place coupled with a busy mind made it difficult.

*** Forever ***

Henry sat on the edge of his bed and removed his shoes. He untucked his shirt and made his way into the bathroom. After he had relieved himself and made himself ready for bed, he returned to the bedroom and climbed on top of the covers, settling himself back against the headboard. He looked at his nightstand and retrieved the book that he left there the last time he and Abraham had visited. He knew he would not get much sleep this evening, so he settled back to begin reading.

He had been reading for about an hour when there was a knock at the bedroom door. He placed his bookmark and called for her to come in.

"I hope I didn't wake you."

"Not at all. I was just catching up on some reading."

"Oh? And what type of story does the good doctor enjoy?" He lifted up a well-worn copy of the first Harry Potter book. She giggled. "Harry Potter? Really?"

He shrugged. "It's not Shakespeare, but it is entertaining. What did you think I would read?"

"I don't know...Jane Austen? Tolkien?"

He chuckled. "I have read their works. But sometimes you just want to read a good fantasy."

"Okay, Henry."

"What did you need, Jo?"

She looked down at her painted toenails. "I couldn't sleep. Do you mind if I join you until you go to sleep or until I get sleepy?"

He looked at her for a moment and shook his head. "Come sit beside me and relax. I'll tell you a story."

She smiled and joined him atop the covers. She kept a fair distance between them and he rolled his eyes.

"You know, I've traveled all over the world and seen many things. I've stood atop the Great Wall, ridden boats in Venice and stood in wonder at the Great Pyramid. But the most beautiful place I have ever seen was the Amazon rainforest." He looked at her and she smiled and scooted a little closer to him. "The trees are majestic and there are so many of them. The colorful birds are everywhere and the people that live there are friendly once you get past their fear of outsiders."

"What were you doing there?"

Henry looked down at her and realized that she had come even closer. "I was a medical student in Guyana and after graduation I wanted to visit the rainforest. I spent almost two years working with the local shamans to treat the people there." He felt her lean against his right side.

"How did you end up as a Medical Examiner?"

"Well, I was a doctor for a while and I enjoyed it. I did not enjoy, however, watching my patients die. And in South America, there are a lot of unexplained deaths. My license was not transferrable to the United States as a practicing physician but it was good enough to be an ME. Abraham was in New York so I came here and applied. Does that answer your question?" He waited and got no response. "Jo?" He looked down and found her to be asleep. He shook his head and smiled.

He put his book back on the night stand and gently laid her down on the bed. He climbed out and moved around the bed to make her comfortable before turning out the light and making his way out to the couch, where he reclined and dozed the rest of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks for the reviews so far. I hope you like the story. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4. In which the truth will out

She slowly came out of a deep slumber and stretched. The bed she was laying on felt heavenly and she luxuriated in the feeling. At the edge of her awareness she could smell coffee brewing and she felt herself drawn to it.

She opened her eyes and felt the confusion hit her; this was not her bed nor her bedroom. After the initial panic subsided she remembered agreeing to come with Henry to his vacation home. After further review she remembered not being able to sleep and coming to Henry's room for companionship. She looked over and could tell that she had slept alone. She smiled as she realized that Henry was more of a gentleman than anyone else she had ever dated. _Wait! Dated?_ Where did that come from?

She shook her head and slowly sat up and got out of bed. Making her way across the room she could faintly hear movement in the direction of the kitchen, so she made her way towards it. As she came to the doorway of the kitchen, she watched as Henry removed a pan from the oven and carefully took the contents of the pan to set it on two plates. He turned and put the plates on the table, which was already set for two. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Good morning, Josefina. Please have a seat and I will get the rest." He indicated a chair for her and went to retrieve a carafe of orange juice and two glasses. She made her way to the chair and sat down, amazed at the meal before her.

"Henry, what is all this?"

He chuckled. "It's a peace offering...for making you wait."

She looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "I have a feeling I'm not going to like whatever it is that you are going to share with me."

He glanced at her as he poured some juice into a glass for her. "Well, I hope you don't dislike it...but I suppose it is a possibility." He sat down and took a sip of his own juice.

Jo reached over and put her hand on his. "Henry...I trust you. It can't be that bad. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together."

He smiled slightly and looked into her eyes. "I hope so. If not...well, I'll miss you."

She grew concerned at his tone. "Henry, you're scaring me."

Henry leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. "Will you please hear me out before you say anything? What I'm about may sound unbelievable, but know that I am telling you the truth."

She squeezed his hand. "All right. Just tell me."

He squeezed her hand back and then stood and began pacing. "Before I begin I would like to ask you a question...normally I would never ask a lady something like this, but I feel it will help explain things." She nodded. "How old are you, Jo?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Thirty-two."

He smiled. "I know that we have grown closer lately and I know I am attracted to you. Are you attracted to me?"

She blushed and nodded. "I am, Henry." She sat straight up and looked at him. "Why? Oh, God, you don't like me like that, do you?"

He sighed. "Josefina...I find myself falling for you. Since you've admitted to being attracted to me, how old do you think I am?"

She sat back thinking. "Thirty-five or so, why?"

"And do you mind that you are attracted to an older man?"

She shrugged. "No, not at all. Why?"

"Because I am older than I look."

"Age doesn't matter to me, Henry."

He chuckled. "That's good, my dear."

"How old are you anyway?"

"I was born in '79."

She did the math. "So I was right?"

"It's the first two numbers that make a difference."

She looked at him with her brows furrowed. "Are you intentionally trying to be vague? Just spit it out, Henry."

He nodded. "I was born in 1779, Jo."

She heard him say it...she looked at his earnest face...but it wasn't processing. "1779?"

He nodded. "I was born in Swansea, Wales on June 12, 1779."

She looked at him concernedly. "Henry, are you all right? Did you hit your head?"

He sighed. "I'm quite in my right mind, Jo."

She sat back and took a sip of her juice. Henry looked okay but she had heard of people having a break down and looking well, _normal_. She had promised him that she would always be there for him. She looked at him...his expression was plain on his face; he wanted, no needed her to believe him. She closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them and looking at him. "Can you prove it?"

He nodded. "I have several photographs taken at various times since the camera was invented. Will those work?" She nodded and he left the room only to return a couple of minutes later with a file box. He opened it and handed her a stack of photographs.

She took the photos and began looking at them. The top one was an old style photo of Henry and a young girl that looked to be taken in the mid-19th century. Henry had long sideburns and the girl wore her hair in a style that looked to be from that period.

"That was taken in Atlanta Georgia in 1856. I was a physician and that girl was the daughter of the local magistrate I had helped treat for a fever. Unfortunately she died during Sherman's March."

She laid that one aside and picked up the next. Henry was standing in front of the head and shoulders of the Statue of Liberty on a pedestal in a garden.

"That one was taken in Paris in 1878 at the World's Fair. I was living there for a while and was curious to see if it was as colossal as it was purported to be."

Jo stared at the picture of Henry standing in the garden. How was this possible? She was sure it was Henry. She laid that one aside and began leafing through the pictures of Henry at different times throughout recent history until she stopped at a picture of him in a military uniform standing next to a blonde military nurse holding a baby.

"Henry...is this Abigail?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's Abigail. And she is holding our adopted son."

"You had told me about Abigail but I thought it was recent."

"Abigail left us in June of 1965. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and she didn't want us to watch her waste away. She just disappeared and left me with our son and I never found her."

Jo sat there, saddened to hear his story. Then the epiphany happened. "Abraham! Your son is Abraham!"

Henry nodded. "He was the lone survivor at a concentration camp that we came upon. Abigail had heard him crying and brought him to a doctor...she came up to me in tears wanting to make sure that the baby was all right. I verified that he was medically sound but that he was hungry."

"So that's how you met?"

"It was. It was love at first sight...but with my condition I didn't want to burden her, so I made to leave once I told her. But she wouldn't let me."

Jo nodded. "So exactly what is your condition?"

Henry sat down and took her hand. "I was first killed in 1816 on a ship that I was on duty as the ship's doctor. After we set sail I found out that it was not a merchant ship as I was led to believe but a slaver's ship. One of the slaves had a simple fever and the captain wanted to throw him overboard; I was shot and thrown overboard with him. When I came to I was bobbing in the water with no ship in sight. The only thing that I had as proof was a scar where the round had entered my body.

"I was picked up by a ship heading towards America as well and given work again as a doctor. When I was finally able to make my way back home almost a year had passed and the original ship had told my wife, Nora, that I had been lost at sea. She was happy to be see me and those types of accidental notifications happened a lot during those days, so no one thought much of it.

"I eventually decided to come clean as it were with Nora, telling her about my rebirth. She seemed alarmed at first but then settled down. The next morning I was carted off to the asylum where I spent several years with Nora visiting less and less often. Eventually I killed myself and was reborn again in a nearby river. It seems anytime I lose my life I will come back in the closest body of water as long as it is deeper than I am tall."

Jo sat there for a moment. "So how many times have you died, Henry?"

"To be honest I quit counting after the hundredth time."

"So how many since I met you?"

"Fifteen."

"Fifteen? Oh my God that's why you have the indecent exposure charges."

"Yes. It seems I am reborn but my clothes disappear."

"When was the first time that you died after we met?"

"The subway."

Jo's eyes widened. "That's why we found your watch!"

He nodded. "And also why my watch was in the cab a bit later."

Jo sat back and closed her eyes. "So why tell me now?"

"Since my first confession ended up with me in an asylum, you can imagine that I am very careful in who I let in on my secret."

"So how many know?"

"Counting you I have told four people."

"Nora, Abigail, Abe and I?" He smiled. "So why trust me with it?"

"Jo, you and I are around each other quite often and we are many times in dangerous situations. It is likely that I will have something happen and I did not want you to despair if it did. Also, I hope that one day we will become more than friends. I need you to understand what that would entail before things go too far."

She sat and looked at the man before her. He would never age. He would look like this when she was going gray. Could she be with a man that would outlive her? _She had to think._

"Henry, I'm...I'm...well, I'm not sure what to say. I need a bit of time to process this."

Henry sighed and looked down. "Shall I take you home?"

She looked at him. "I thought we were here all day."

He looked up confused. "I wasn't sure if you had changed your mind."

"No...just...would you mind if I went for a walk along the beach? I need to get my thoughts in order."

"Of course not. I'll be here waiting."

She softly smiled at him and went to get dressed to go outside. She walked out the door and down to the beach.

*** Forever ***

Abe was sitting at his desk looking out over the shop when his phone rang. "Abe's Antiques."

"Hello Abraham."

"Hey! You aren't on speakerphone or anything are you?"

"No. I am on the house phone and am alone in the house at the moment."

"Alone?! Dad, are you okay?"

"I'm all right, son. Jo is off thinking."

"So we don't have to move?"

Henry chuckled. "You're fine where you are. She took it rather calmly if truth be told."

"So where is she?"

"She went for a walk along the beach. It's a lot to take in and she needed some space before she tells me we can't work together anymore."

"I'm sure she is thinking nothing of the sort, Dad! Jo is a strong woman; she's just what you need! And you are just what she needs...someone to make her think out of the box. It'll be fine."

Henry sighed. "I hope so, Abraham." He paused and Abe heard a door open and close. "I believe she's back. I will let you know how things are later."

"Good luck!"

"Thanks." Abe hears the line go dead and he hangs up. "Good luck, Dad."

*** Forever ***

Jo had walked about fifty yards down the beach when she realized that she was fine with the things Henry had explained to her. She had questions to be sure; but she knew that she cared for him and that they would figure things out. They had **_years_** to figure things out.

She had quietly stepped inside to hear Henry on the phone.

Henry chuckled. "_You're fine where you are. She took it rather calmly if truth be told._"

There was a pause while he listened to Abe's response.

"_She went for a walk along the beach. It's a lot to take in and she needed some space before she tells me we can't work together anymore._"

Jo felt her eyes begin to tear up as she realized he thought the worst. She wanted to run up and hug him.

Henry sighed. "_I hope so, Abraham_."

At this point Jo started to feel guilty and opened and closed the door a little louder.

He paused. "_I believe she's back. I will let you know how things are later_."

"_Thanks_."

Jo walked into the room and sat down next to Henry. He looked at her questioningly and she smiled warmly at him and then cupped his face and gently kissed him. "Henry...the only thing knowing your secret changes is that we have more time to learn how to be together. I am almost ready to let go of Sean and when I do I want you to be beside me."

Henry looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I was afraid to lose you, Josefina. I knew that I had to tell you and I was hopeful that you would understand; losing you would have made my existence torture."

She smiled through her tears and punched his arm. "Stop it Henry!"

Henry winced when her punch connected with his arm. "Yes, my dear." He then chuckled when she threw herself into his arms and kept mumbling that it would be all right.

*** Forever ***

Henry and Jo walked into the shop and spied Abe speaking to an older lady about a tea set. He nodded at them and smiled as he boxed it up and finished the sale. He held the door for her as she exited and then closed and locked it and turned the sign to closed. "Well hello you two!"

Jo smiled. "Hi Abe!"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Hello Abraham."

Jo looked at him. "Why do you always call him Abraham?"

Abe sighed. "You'll never win. I've been trying to get him to call me Abe since 1959 when I was fifteen."

"It's just that when one's parents choose a name there is a reason and shouldn't be shortened."

Abe rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay...I get it. I still like Abe though."

Jo giggled at the two of them. "How did I not see it before?"

Henry looked at her inquisitively. "See what?"

"Your relationship."

Abe shrugged and grinned at her. "I just thought you were a little slow..." He laughed when she smacked his arm.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Are you 70 or 7?"

Abe smirked. "Which one will get me some of your homemade cheesecake?"

Jo looked at Henry. "Holding out on me, Henry? You can make cheesecake?"

"Fine. I will make cheesecake this weekend. It isn't fair when you two gang up on me."

Jo snickered as Abe laughed. Henry couldn't help but smile at the pair. He could definitely get used to this.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thanks for reading and thanks for the feedback! I'm enjoying this little journey through the ****_Forever_**** world. Please remember that I only own that which you do not recognize: the plot, OCs and such. All else is owned by their respective licensees. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 5. In which things move forward

Henry and Jo slowly came towards each other during the next couple of months. Shared dinners and time spent going to the movies, theater and more were fit in between cases. Summer morphed into Fall and the trees in Central Park burst into a myriad of colors as the pair were sometimes able to take a few moments to enjoy it.

At the precinct, subtle changes were noted. After Henry had aced his weapons qualification and other training, he took more of a partner's role on the team. Mike Hanson had even come to look to Henry for theories and smiled when Henry and Jo started working theories together. Reece found herself smiling and kept the folks at 1PP aware of the increasing solve rate for her homicide team.

Henry had been very careful of late and tried not to do anything that would scare his partner. They had several frank discussions about his life and their blooming relationship. It was during what appeared to be a simple case that it happened.

*** Forever ***

"I'm telling you, Jo. This is a robbery gone wrong."

"Mike, let Henry do his thing."

"Oh, so the Doc has to say it before you believe it?"

Jo groaned. Since it had been discovered that she and Henry were spending time together outside of work, Mike had been pushing it. "No, Mike. Look...somehow he sees things in a way that you and I don't. You know this and have seen it often enough."

Mike sighed. "Yeah...okay."

Jo looked at her partner. "What do you think, Henry?"

He looked up at her from where he was squatting. "It looks like the young lady was supposed to have been robbed."

"Supposed to have been? Doc, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, Detective Hanson...if you look closely she has a diamond encrusted hair clip and her watch is a Movado Crystal model. Between the two items there is about a thousand dollars worth of jewelry. Yes, her purse is missing and her rings are removed, but I would suppose that was more to delay identification and make it look like a robbery. These watches are serialized and recorded during the sale, so you should be able to use it to make a positive identification."

Jo looked at Mike with a raised eyebrow as Mike looked up at Henry. "How the hell do you know these things, Doc?"

Henry just shrugged. "I read a lot."

Jo giggled and Mike looked at her strangely. "Did you just giggle?"

Jo shrugged. "I've been known to find things funny on occasion."

Mike shook his head and raised his hands. "I give. You're both weird."

Henry and Jo just looked at each other and smiled. Mike finished his canvassing and left Henry and Jo to follow up on the watch research.

They started to walk down the street towards her car. "So, Henry...it's my turn to cook dinner. Any preferences?"

Henry looked thoughtful. "Surprise me? I'm not in the mood for anything in particular."

They walked past an alley and a hand shot out and grabbed Henry's arm. Jo had been a step ahead and caught the movement in her peripheral vision. She spun around in time to see a knife flash and as she was pulling her gun she saw Henry's eyes squeeze together and she heard his grunt of pain. She saw the guy duck into a doorway as she dropped to reach for Henry. He opened his eyes to look at her and mouthed 'Call Abraham' before he went limp and disappeared.

*** Forever ***

It had been the first time since he confessed his secret to her that she had witnessed it. She knew that the man who had stabbed him was long gone and without even any blood there was no proof that anything had happened. She grabbed his belongings and got up, putting her gun away as she grabbed her phone. She hit the speed dial and waited for Abe to answer. "Abe?"

"Oh, hello Jo! What can I do for you?"

"It's not me...it's Henry. He was stabbed and..." Even though she saw she couldn't voice it out loud.

"Ah. So...road trip?"

"Yes. You seem calmer than I expected."

"I keep an outfit and some towels in the car. I'll head out and get him. Do you want to meet me back here?"

"Sure. See you in a bit." They hung up and she made her way to the car and drove to the shop to await their return.

*** Forever ***

When Abe parked and they got out of the car, Jo got out and ran to Henry. She buried her head in his chest and he folded her into his arms. "It's all right, Josefina. I'm here."

She looked up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I was so afraid I'd lost you. Even if my head knew what would happen, my heart had trouble believing."

Her anguish was palpable. He lifted her chin and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Let me go shower and change and we can head back into the precinct. I smell like the East River." She nodded and hugged him once again before following him into the shop.

Twenty minutes later they were in her car. Henry looked over to her as she took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm here, Jo."

She glanced over at him with a watery smile. "I know, Henry...I can't help it."

"I understand, my dear. We'll talk more about it later."

She nodded. "Okay. I just want you to know how special you have become to me."

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "I feel the same, Josefina. I feel the same."

When they stopped outside the precinct she handed his weapon back to him and they went inside. He headed down to begin the autopsy of the victim while she went up to see what luck Mike had with tracking the watch registration.

"Hey Jo! The doc was right." He held up a photo of their victim. The picture of a blonde haired young woman was what she saw. "The victim's name was Gabriella Reynolds. She was twenty-four years old and a fashion designer. She worked at a boutique in Midtown and had been there for two years."

Jo took the picture and sat at her desk. "So young. Have you talked to the co-workers?"

Mike looked up and motioned towards his partner's desk. John Thorpe was not at his desk. "John's there now."

Jo nodded. "Okay, I'll look for next of kin if you pull her phone records." He nodded and they went to work.

*** Forever ***

Lucas looked up when Henry walked in. "Your victim just got here. I prepped the table for you."

Henry nodded as he removed his jacket and put on his lab coat. "Thanks, Lucas. Let's see what we can find out about her, shall we?"

They spent the next half hour cataloging her wounds and taking pictures. Lucas scraped under her fingernails and Henry began his examination. Tissue samples were taken and sent off for analysis. After another forty-five minutes, Henry put his scalpel down and removed his gloves. Lucas came over and stood across the body from him.

"Do me a favor, Lucas. Let's run an HIV test."

"Okay...but why?"

"Let's run the test and when we have the results I will share."

"Okay. It will take a few hours to get the results back." Henry nodded and changed from his lab coat back to his jacket and headed up to give the detectives his preliminary findings.

Lucas shook his head. "He could have at least thanked me..."

*** Forever ***

Henry strode out from the elevator straight to his partner's desk. Mike noticed him just as Jo turned around. "What have you got for us, Doc?"

Henry looked at Mike. "The young lady's cause of death was just as I expected; asphyxiation. The bruises around her throat have deepened and I was able to lift a fingerprint. However, I noted a couple of things that may have some bearing on the case. I'm having Lucas run some tests to verify my theory and we should have the results in a couple of hours."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "What is your theory, Henry?"

"Well, she shows signs of an infection. She had a fever and a bad rash. I suspect her cell counts to be off. I've asked Lucas to get an HIV test run. I have a feeling this is a lover's spat gone horribly wrong."

"Wow, Doc, how do you figure?"

Henry looked up at the question. "Well, Detective Hanson, the act that caused her death was very personal. Death by strangulation is usually a crime of passion. It's much more personal than say being shot. Also, there was not much evidence of defensive wounds, suggesting that she felt that she had done the person wrong. I believe you are looking for a significant other, most probably a younger male due to the size of the hand prints on her throat."

Jo just leaned back and looked at Henry. She was pleased that he was her partner most of the time. And when he used his incredible brain, she loved it. "So John, anything on her personal life?"

The newest detective to the team nodded. "Yeah. Ms. Reynolds was engaged to Larry Charbini, son of Benjamin Charbini the owner of Magnum Construction. They were scheduled to get married in just over a month after a three year engagement."

Jo nodded. "Let's get Larry in to talk to him. I'll pull his financial and phone records. Mike, you two go get him, okay?" They nodded and left; she turned to Henry. "Can you see if you can get the results back quickly?" He nodded and put a hand on her shoulder for a second before heading back to the elevator.

*** Forever ***

Lucas sat on a stool in the lab reviewing the results from the HIV test; he never could figure how Henry could instinctively know something as often as he did. He was muttering to himself when Henry walked in.

"It's never a good thing to talk to oneself."

Lucas jumped. "Geez, Henry...you have these weird ninja-like skills."

"Sorry. Do we have the results of the HIV test back?"

Lucas nodded. "Yes, and you were right. She tested positive. Oh, and the results came back on the rape kit. There was evidence of sexual activity and they recovered some DNA that did not belong to the victim. They are running the DNA against the database now."

Henry turned his head to look out the window. "Good work, Lucas. Let me know the moment you have anything further. I will admit this case has me intrigued...there is more to it than meets the eye."

*** Forever ***

"Jo, you need to look at this."

Jo looked up at Mike. "What do you have?"

He handed her a piece of paper. "Gabriella's phone records show multiple calls to two numbers; one was her fiance and the other to a number in Jersey."

"Any idea who the number belongs to?"

He nodded. "Lara Pemberton...age 26. She is a schoolteacher and lives in Bayonne on West 28th."

"Okay. Get me her info and I will grab Henry. We'll go find out what Ms. Pemberton knows." She grabbed her phone and hit the first speed dial. "Henry? Are you ready for a ride to Bayonne? We have a lead...okay. Meet you in ten." She grabbed her coat and purse and headed out.

*** Forever ***

They followed the young woman into her living room and took a seat together on the couch. She looked at Jo. "So what happened to Gabby?"

"That's what we are trying to find out, Ms. Pemberton. Were you two close?"

Lara nodded. "We had been seeing each other for about six months."

Henry leaned forward. "When were you diagnosed?"

Jo looked at him curiously and Lara looked down. "I found out a couple months after Gabby and I started dating. My ex was notified and she notified me so I went in and got tested. I told Gabby about it and she told me not to worry. She got tested but hadn't gotten her results back into this week. She called me to let me know but we had parent teacher conferences and I couldn't get away until yesterday."

Jo looked down at her hands and then back up. "Did you know she was engaged?"

Lara nodded. "She was pushed into it by her family. The guys a real jerk; Gabby would show up here with bruises all the time. I told her she should break it off and she finally said she was going to last week. I really hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her since then."

Jo nodded and stood. "Lara, we're very sorry for your loss. We'll do everything we can to find the killer." She handed her a business card. "Call me if you think of anything further."

Lara nodded and walked them to the door. "Thank you." They nodded as she closed the door.

As they got back into Jo's car, Henry locked at her. "So...is the fiance next?"

Jo nodded and grabbed his hand. "Thanks for coming with me."

"I'm with you, Josefina."

"I know."

*** Forever ***

Mike looked at the others. "So...you're tellin' me that the victim had HIV?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. And she was trying to get out of her engagement."

Jo looked at Henry before turning to Mike. "Any luck yet on Charbini?"

Mike nodded. "He's due in here in about twenty minutes."

The elevator doors opened and Lucas came running up to Henry out of breath. "Here...results..." He handed Henry a piece of paper. Henry took a moment and then handed the paper to Jo. She took on a thoughtful look and then went to prepare for the interrogation.

Fifteen minutes later Larry Charbini was led out of the elevator by a uniformed officer and into the interrogation room. Jo nodded to Henry and started towards the room. She stopped for a moment and straightened her shoulders before pasting a fake smile on her face and motioning for Henry to follow her into the room. Mike went into the viewing area and looked at their suspect as Jo and Henry begin to speak.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: A reminder to all that I do not own Forever, I am merely playing in its sandbox; Thanks again for reading and I hope you are enjoying our little trip.**

CHAPTER 6. In which a wrong is righted

The door opened into the interrogation room and Jo got her first look at the suspect. He was dressed well and had chiseled good looks. His olive skin and dark brown hair framed a face with deep brown eyes. His lip was turned up in a smirk as he looked at her. "Well! If all cops looked like you I wouldn't mind having to come in on occasion." His eyes moved to Henry after Jo cleared the doorway and his smirk grew. "Ah, so do they issue lapdogs now?"

Jo rolled her eyes and Henry sighed before replying. "No, Mr. Charbini, is it? Did you know lapdogs were an Italian slang term for men who needed assistance in rising to the occasion, shall we say?"

Jo watched the suspect while Henry continued. "It's amazing when one learns the etymology of a term, isn't it? That phrase was coined in Roman times for men that could not satisfy their women. How did you learn the term?" Henry calmly assisted Jo into her chair and sat in his.

"Are you saying I couldn't satisfy Gabriella? So that's why she hooked up with that chick and not me?"

Henry calmly looked at Jo and raised an eyebrow. "Detective, did you hear me make any references to Mr. Charbini's virility or lack thereof?"

Jo shook her head. "I don't believe I did, Doctor." She turned towards the suspect. "Are you inferring you had issues, Mr. Charbini?"

"No!"

"Well then! Let's get right to it. Did you kill Gabriella Reynolds?"

His eyes widened but there was no other reaction. "No."

Jo made a note on her pad. "I see. Where were you on that night?"

"I was out of town on business."

She nodded and added another note. "What type of business do you do, Mr. Charbini?"

"My family runs a construction business."

"I see. And where exactly were you when you went out of town?"

"I was in DC."

Another note. "I see. And when did you return?"

"We flew back and landed at 8:15 PM."

Another note. "I see. That's rather specific...8:15 PM." Jo looked up at the suspect. "And did you go straight home after?"

"No. I had to check in with my father. My negotiations on a new contract had hit a standstill, so I came home to check in with him and to see Gabriella."

"How long were you at your father's?"

"I got home around 10 PM. Gabriella wasn't home so I left her a note to wake me and I went to bed."

Henry sat back and watched as Jo drew out the details from the suspect before stepping in. "Mr. Charbini, was your father happy with your relationship with Gabriella?"

He shrugged. "He never said anything to me until that night."

Jo leaned forward. "And what did he say to you then?"

"That the wedding should be called off...he heard she got cold feet."

*** Forever ***

After they had corroborated Larry's story they turned their focus to his father Benjamin. The man had built his company from nothing. He came from Sicily with a couple hundred dollars and was now worth more than a couple million. He had married his childhood sweetheart and had a son, Larry. He invested in real estate and was very comfortable.

Mike spotted that a few of his employees were 'former' mafiosos. Jo called and asked him to come down to answer a few questions to help resolve his son's alibi questions.

An hour later, Benny Charbini was led into a conference room where Jo and Mike sat. "Mr. Charbini, thanks for taking time out to speak with us today. I'm Detective Jo Martinez and this is Detective Mike Hanson." They all shook hands and sat down.

"So you said you needed me to confirm Larry's alibi?"

"Yes. I assume you heard about Gabriella's murder?"

He shook his head. "Yeah, terrible. Larry loved her and she loved him. Gabby's mother...God rest her soul...she was so happy when Gabby and Larry announced the engagement."

Mike looked at his notes. "That was Therese Reynolds, correct?"

"Yeah. She was a real nice lady."

"What about Gabriella's father?"

Benny tensed. "That no good low-life left Gabby and her mother when the baby was born. They were better off without him."

Jo nodded. "So, Mr. Charbini..."

"Call me Benny."

"Okay, Benny...was Larry at your house that night?"

"Yeah; he flew in from DC and came by the house. Left just before 10:30."

"So...you were happy with Larry and Gabriella getting married?"

He looked up at her. "I was...why?"

"I'm sure you understand...we just want to make sure we can rule out as many folks as we can so that we can find her killer."

"Yeah, I get it. I was happy for them, but I thought Gabby was a little off. Not anything we could see, but my gut told me she wasn't it for him."

"What caused you to think that?"

"I have seen many couples in love, Detective. You can see it in their eyes, their smiles to each other. Gabby didn't look at Larry like she loved him."

Jo looked over her notes and smiled. "Thanks for coming in, Mr. Charbini. I think we're sure that Larry didn't do anything. We'll make sure to keep you posted."

Mike walked him to the elevator as Henry walked in. "I think I may have an idea who killed her. I can show you down in the lab."

She nodded at him. "Let's go."

*** Forever ***

Henry pulled out the drawer that held Gabriella's body. He pulled on some gloves and removed the sheet covering her. "Look here. I was so focused on the obvious that I looked right over it." Henry pointed to the marks on her neck. "Notice the length of the hand print. From the tip of the thumb to the end it is 6 and a half inches. Did you see how large the hands were on the men we interviewed?"

Jo nodded. "How do you measure?"

Henry turned around and grabbed a small ruler. "Give me your hand." She put her hand out and Henry showed her. "Now, Detective...can you think of anyone involved in this case who has smaller hands?"

Jo's eyes widened. "Lara Pemberton!"

Henry nodded. "Exactly. Ms. Pemberton. But why?"

Jo shrugged. "I have no idea."

Mike looked at Henry. "How did she seem when you two talked to her?"

Henry smiled. "I would say she was neither surprised nor emotional about it. In fact, she seemed like she wanted to hurry us off."

Jo looked at him. "She wasn't surprised, was she? Mike, see if you can verify when Gabriella got tested for HIV and when Lara Pemberton did. I didn't see it at first but if the situation was reversed..."

"On it!"

*** Forever ***

Lara Pemberton looked nervously at the door of the interrogation room. She watched as it opened to show the pair she had spoken to previously. "Why am I here, detective? I've already told you what I know."

Jo looked at her as she and Henry took seats. "I just need to verify a few facts."

Lara looked at them and settled back in her chair. "What facts do you need to verify?"

Jo opened her notebook and started reading. "You stated that you found out a couple months after the two of you started dating. Your ex had contracted HIV and let you know, then you let Gabriella know. Is that the sequence of events?"

Lara nodded. "That's right."

Henry leaned forward. "Did you know that it's possible to get a search warrant for medical records if there is enough cause?" Lara looked down at her hands. "Also, did you know that only twenty-one percent of the people in the United States share hand sizes?" She glanced up at him and then back down. "Lastly, did you know that crayon shavings shed small pieces and that they get trapped in the ridges in our hands and that transferring them to another, perhaps by a strong handshake or wrapping hands around someone else's wrist or throat would leave fingerprints almost impossible to see?"

Lara looked at Henry with disgust. "That bitch deserved it. She gave me HIV. Lord only knows who she slept around with."

Jo looked at Henry then at Lara. "So...you killed her because she gave you HIV." Lara nodded. "Why?"

She smirked. "It's biblical...an eye for an eye. _A life for a life_..."

*** Forever ***

Twenty minutes later Lara had signed a confession and was being led away to booking. Jo shook her head. "Henry, you amaze me. All that knowledge..."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, I gotta hand it to you, Doc. Crayon shavings?"

Henry grinned. "Yes, about that..."

Jo's eyes widened. "Henry! You didn't?"

He shrugged. "She fell for that one. I could see if she were to be overloaded with information, she would spill her guts as they say. She was already breathing short breaths and perspiring."

Reece walked over. "However you all did it, we got the killer. Good job everyone! Go home and get some rest."

Jo smiled. "Thanks, Lieu." Reece nodded and walked away.

Mike smiled. "Anyone want to head out for drinks?"

Henry shook his head. "Abraham is cooking dinner this evening. I'll just head home but thank you." He looked over at Jo and smiled as she grinned at him. Their exchange wasn't noticed because Lucas walked up.

Mike looked at Jo. "How about you?"

She shook her head. "Sorry…can't tonight. Have to meet a friend for dinner and then off to bed early."

Mike rolled his eyes and looked at Lucas. "Life of the party these two. How about you Lucas? Grab a beer before heading home?"

"Sounds good. I'll meet you across the street in twenty minutes." He headed out; Jo and Henry said their goodbyes and headed off, Jo to her desk and Henry back to the lab to grab his things.

Mike just looked at them for a second before shrugging. "See you later, Jo."

She shut down her computer and waved as he headed out. She grabbed her coat and purse and went to the lab.

Henry had just locked his desk and grabbed his coat and scarf when Jo walked up. "So is Abe really cooking?"

He nodded. "He's taken a Thai cooking course and I am to be his guinea pig. Join us?"

She laughed. "I suppose. What is he cooking for us tonight?"

"He is serving Khao phat kung or in English fried rice with shrimp."

"Sold!"

Henry grinned and they headed out.

*** Forever ***

Jo smiled at Henry as he poured her some more wine. "Trying to get me drunk, Dr. Morgan?"

Henry looked startled. "I would _never_, Detective! I give you my word I would not take advantage of you!"

Jo giggled as Abe snorted. "Lighten up, Henry! I'm sure that my virtue is safe." Jo leaned in and hugged him.

Henry looked at his son. "That's enough out of you, young man. Don't make me send you to bed."

Abe looked at Henry and shook his head. "Jo, please forgive him. He sometimes forget the zero at the end of my age."

Henry rolled his eyes. "That's easy to do when you act like a seven year old, Abraham."

Abe chuckled and got up from the table. "I'm heading off to read. Good night, you two."

Both Jo and Henry said good night as they watched Abe grab a book and head into his room. Henry stood up and gathered the dishes.

"Henry, let me help."

He looked over at Jo thoughtfully and nodded. "Come on, then. We'll get these washed and then sit for a bit to relax." She followed him into the kitchen and they took their time cleaning up from dinner.

Henry grabbed their glasses and the remains of the wine from dinner and headed out to the roof. Jo followed and they sat on the couch together and watched the sky as they drank their wine.

"Henry?"

"Hmm?"

"I know that you and Abigail were married for a while...how long was it exactly?"

He looked over at her. "When we met in 1945 she was twenty one. She left us in 1975 when she was almost fifty-one."

"So about thirty years?" Henry nodded. "Wow. And I thought that losing Sean after three was hard."

"It's not the amount of time, my dear. It hurts and your heart does not want to move on no matter how much your head says you should. Eventually though, you'll be able to function again without a crutch and life will go on."

She nodded and took a sip of her wine. She leaned her head onto Henry's shoulder and snuggled in. "I'm glad we found each other, Henry."

"Me too, darling...me too."

"I have so many questions."

Henry smiled and kissed the top of her head. ""Well we will have to get those answered. But tonight, let's just relax together and enjoy things, Josefina."

Jo snuggled in and grinned. "I'm beginning to not mind my name so much when it comes from you."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry for the delay between chapters and the shortness of this one. Started a new position at work and am still working out the workload. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 7. In which miracles happen

Three weeks after their heart to heart found them rolling up to a crime scene. They exited the car and walked over to where Mike Hanson stood.

Henry looked around for the body. "Where's the victim?"

Mike looked at them. "I can only partially answer that."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

He pointed to a box next to the dumpster and Henry walked over. He could smell the decomposition as he approached it. Putting on a pair of gloves he reached down and lifted the lid to reveal a head. "Where is the rest of him?"

"Uniforms are looking for the rest now. None of it is close; we've checked everywhere within a block."

Jo walked over and looked at what Henry had uncovered. "I'm guessing we didn't find any ID?"

Mike shook his head. "Black male is all I have."

"He is from Chad, a member of the Daza."

Both Jo and Mike look at him in amazement. Mike shook his head. "Come on, Doc...how could you possibly know that?"

"I have done some extensive traveling. On a trip near the Sahara we detoured and I met some members of their tribe. All Kreda Kou have a tattoo of a dagger behind their left ear just like our victim."

Jo shook her head and smiled. "Okay, Henry." She turned to Mike. 'Want to see if we can get TSA to forward us anyone who entered the country in the past thirty days from Chad to start with?"

Mike leaned in and whispered to Jo. "Do you really think he's right?"

She whispered back. "I've learned to trust his instincts. Let me know if you find anything." He nodded and walked away.

*** Forever ***

Mike walked over to Jo's desk and sat down in the chair beside it. "How the hell does Henry do it?"

Jo grinned and looked up at him. "Do what, exactly?"

Mike handed her a photo. "Meet Mahamout Tchari aged thirty-two from Chad. Arrived three days ago and was supposedly visiting his sick mother. We checked; his mother died ten years ago in a farming accident...in Chad."

Jo looked at the photo and picked up her phone, dialing Henry's lab phone. "Henry? Oh, hey Lucas...is Henry around? No...can you just ask him to come to my desk? Thanks." She put down her phone and sat back in her chair. "Well, we know who he is. Did he rent a car or take a taxi from the airport? Can you see if one of the techs can pick him up from customs and see where he went?" Mike nodded and walked back to his desk.

Jo heard the elevator and looked to see Henry walk out. He headed straight to her. "What did you need me for, Detective?"

"Henry...Mike's worried that you are psychic or something."

He looked up at Hanson's desk to see him concentrating on the computer. "I don't believe that I have any abilities as a seer. Why did he think that?"

She handed him the photo. "Our victim is Mahamout Tchari; he is indeed from Chad and arrived three days ago."

Henry studied the photo and nodded. "Mr. Tchari...hmmm. The note here indicates that Mr. Tchari is thirty-two? No. This man is at least forty-five. Thankfully we recovered the rest of the body. Lucas is running his fingerprints and we have pulled DNA for a test as well but the identifiers all indicate that the man is in his mid-forties. I believe our victim assumed the identity of Mr. Tchari in order to enter the country." He looked to Jo. "I'm going to go back to the morgue and take another look at our victim. I'll call you when I have something." He turned and headed back to the elevator.

*** Forever ***

With Henry's revelation that the victim was possibly an impostor, the detectives called the Department of Homeland Security. The agent that was assigned to the case was Mark Collins. He met with the team (including Henry) to review the case so far.

Jo sat next to Henry and looked at Agent Collins. "So our victim was originally identified as Mahamout Tchari from Chad. However, Mr. Tchari's records state that he was in his early thirties and Dr. Morgan has determined that our victim was in his mid-forties. Once we got a good photo of Mr. Tchari, it was easy to determine that the vic was not him."

Collins turned towards Henry. "Any idea yet who he really is?"

Henry shook his head. "Not yet; the man on my table is approximately forty-five and likely hails from Chad. He has distinctive tattoos usually found on the members of the Kreda Kou tribe of the Daza. Mr. Tchari was likely also a member of the tribe. I have requested a full DNA test and have taken several vials of blood for additional blood testing. We've had no one come forward to claim the body though."

Collins sat back a moment. "I can get some additional help if you need it."

"Assistance in speeding up the DNA testing would be the most help at the moment."

Collins nodded and dialed his phone before placing it next to his ear. "Collins here; if we forward a DNA test request and sample how quickly can we have it processed? Great! i'll get it brought to you in an hour. Thanks!" He looked at Henry. "I'll take it myself to our lab. How soon can you get it ready?"

"I'll be back in ten minutes."

*** Forever ***

With Agent Collins' expediting the DNA test, Henry and Jo headed out to have lunch. "Where to, Detective?"

Jo looked at him. "How does Thai sound?"

"Splendid." They decided to walk a couple of blocks over from the precinct. Henry was making a few observations about the history of the buildings as they passed them and Jo was thinking about their weekend away when he revealed his secret.

Neither noticed the man that was following them. When they walked past an alley, Jo felt a piercing pain in her back and Henry watched as a man in a mask pulled the blade from her back and ran down the alley.

Jo looked at him as she fell to the sidewalk. "H-Henry."

Henry grabbed Jo's phone and called 911. "Stay with me, Josefina. Don't you dare die on me." He told the dispatcher their location and that there was an officer down then hung up. "I can't lose you, Jo. I love you."

Jo smiled weakly. "I love you too, Henry. I'll always love you."

He heard the siren as the ambulance grew closer. He looked down at Jo as she closed her eyes. He checked her pulse and noted that it was steady but weakening. "Stay with me, darling." She smiled and opened her eyes for a moment before they fluttered closed as the EMTs arrived.

*** Forever ***

When they arrived at the hospital, Jo was whisked away to surgery. Hanson met Henry at the hospital and waited until he had given the nurse at the desk Jo's pertinent information.

"What happened, Henry?"

Henry sighed. "Jo and I decided to get some lunch and were walking to the restaurant when she was attacked. I couldn't chase after him as I needed to make sure she would be all right."

Hanson nodded. "Did you see the guy?"

"Yes. He was about six feet tall and about two hundred pounds. He was black and was carrying a dagger with a bone handle. He had a slight limp on his left side but he had a ski mask on so I could not see his face. I did see his eyes though; they were black, which is a very unusual color."

Hanson wrote down his description. "What about his clothes?"

"He was wearing dark blue pants and black boots like those worn in the military. He had on a red flannel shirt. Oh and the mask was light blue."

"Okay. Henry, Jo's a fighter. She'll be okay."

"I hope so." He watched Hanson walk out to head to the precinct and turned when he heard the doctor call out for the family of Jo Martinez. "I'm her...boyfriend."

"Henry, right?" Henry nodded. "She has you down as her emergency contact. Look, Henry...she lost a lot of blood, but the knife missed the major organs. Her blood type is unusual as it is B negative. We're waiting to find some but the longer we wait...well, as a doctor, you know the odds."

Henry nodded and closed his eyes. His blood was B negative as well, but he did not know what the effects of his blood would be on someone else. He sighed and looked at the doctor. "I'm B negative. I'll donate to her."

The doctor nodded. "We'll have to verify but if you are we'll be able to save her." He called the lab to send a tech to draw a sample.

*** Forever ***

Fifteen minutes later He was watching as his blood drained into the bag. He was worried about what could happen, but he was worried more about losing her. He nodded as they closed off the line and rushed the blood off to the waiting team to transfer it. They cleaned him up and made sure he had a small meal before escorting him back out into the waiting room where Abe, Lucas and Lieutenant Reece sat waiting for news.

Henry sat and smiled at them. "The doctors are confident she'll recover fully. There was some concern over the loss of blood but we've made sure enough is available if needed."

They all smiled and Henry looked towards the doors, missing the twinkle in the Lieutenant's eyes and the worry in Abe's. What was done was done.

Now all Jo had to do was wake up.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: We've got just a couple more chapters in this adventure, but I hope to surprise and please you with how I've plotted the test of the story. I have all of it written and will post soon, but I am curious to hear how you've enjoyed the story or if I can improve as a writer. Please enjoy!**

Chapter 8. In which Everything is old

_Pain_.

She remembered that. She had been stabbed.

"_I can't lose you, Jo. I love you_."

She remembered the look on his face. The utter devastation that she wish she could take away.

She remembered the pain of losing Sean...the annoyance of being told she was wrong by an ME on a case...she remembered becoming impressed by his Sherlock-like abilities of observation...she remembered thinking fondly of him but knowing that there was much more to him than met the eye.

"_I love you too, Henry. I'll always love you_." She remembered when she realized that she had started falling for the same ME and when she had found out about his secret.

As she slipped back into unconsciousness she remembered that he was her reason for living. "I'll be back soon, Henry."

*** Forever ***

It was the third day after her stabbing and Henry sat beside her bed holding her hand. The early morning sun had just risen; it was peeking through the blinds of her hospital room. Overnight they had started reducing the dosage of her medications so that she would start to wake up on her own.

He had gone home and changed at Abraham's insistence the night before and slept for a few hours. He woke at two AM, got dressed and made his way back to the hospital. He had settled himself in his chair and slipped his hand over hers. He had not realized just how deeply in love he had fallen until he almost lost her. As he sat and watched her sleep, he came to a decision. He knew now that more than ever he had a reason to live; he would stop his research in how to die and instead spend his time making the woman he loved smile.

Jo felt herself waking. She began to hear the sounds of the machines that were connected to her. She felt the ache in her back and the stiffness of her body. But what she concentrated on was her right hand; there was a warmth that she should recognize. She opened her eyes and tried to focus them. Her throat was scratchy and she could barely move. She turned her head slightly to see Henry looking at her with tears in his eyes. "Do I look that awful?"

"You look that beautiful, my Josefina. I am so thankful that you are awake."

She smiled slightly at his possessive use of _'my'_. "Could I have some water?"

His eyes widened. "Of course, darling." He poured some water from the pitcher and placed a straw in it. "Now sip. Once you've had a bit I'll call the nurse." He helped her take a few sips and then placed the cup on the table. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back." She nodded and he left the room, presumably looking for the nurse.

*** Forever ***

The nurse had come in and taken her vitals after Henry had gone out of the room. Her wound was checked and the doctor notified. Henry came back in after the nurse left and let her know that the precinct had been notified that she was awake. She smiled and held his hand as she drifted back off to sleep.

The rest of that day she slept more than she was awake and had a fairly steady stream of visitors. She asked about her attacker and was not surprised that there was little news. Visiting hours were over and Henry had gotten permission to stay, but he was out to find some tea when she had an unexpected visitor.

Jo smiled at the woman. "Hey, Lieu."

Reece smiled back at her. "You scared us, Jo."

"Yeah, well I didn't expect to. We were just going to lunch."

The older woman nodded. "So Henry told me." She looked out the door for a second. "He's good for you."

Jo smiled. "Yeah. He won't go home."

Reece smirked. "When you love someone, you don't feel right leaving them when they are hurt."

Jo's eyes widened but Reece put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. I thought that it would happen and I think that it's great that you two have found each other. Did you know that he gave you blood?"

Jo paled. "He did what?"

"Your blood type is rare and he is a match. He didn't hesitate and gave a couple pints."

Jo rolled her eyes. She knew that Henry would do that. "He told me…he told me that he loved me."

"Good. And did you respond?"

Jo blushed. "Yeah...I did."

Reece nodded. "Good. It's about time." She looked at her watch. "Well, I had best leave you to rest. I'll stop by soon and we'll talk about medical leave." They said their goodbyes and Jo watched as her boss left. She watched as Henry came down the corridor and the two stopped and talked for a minute.

Henry came in smiling. "Do you need anything?"

Jo smirked. "Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?"

Henry looked at her in confusion. "Girlfriend?"

"Intended? Betrothed?"

Henry shook his head. "What are we talking about?"

Jo chuckled and winced at the slight pain from her back. "I was talking to Lucy, my nurse. She said that my boyfriend had barely left my side and that it was sweet. When I asked her how she knew she said that she overheard you telling the doctor that when they first came to give you news about me."

Henry sat back in the chair and blushed. "Ah...well, you see...I..."

Jo put her hand on his. "Usually the boy asks the girl before declaring it to the world."

Henry laughed. "Josefina, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I suppose." Henry grinned and she squeezed his hand. "Aren't you supposed to kiss me now?" Henry laughed again and leaned over to press his lips against hers. The two talked for almost an hour until Jo had to have another shot for pain and fell asleep.

*** Forever ***

In the LaFourche Parish of Louisiana, an older black woman chanted as a younger woman mopped her forehead. They were just outside of Thibodaux near the Bayou Lafourche. A young black man stood several feet awa from the two women watching them. The older woman finally grew silent as she sat down on a stump.

The younger woman held a cup up to the older one. "Did you see what you needed to see, mama?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes I did, child. I will begin preparations. The time that was foretold is upon us. Matma's use of the gris-gris to curse the slaver's family was not done properly and while it worked to an extent, a repentant son was struck as was my mother. As the slaver's son has been purified, so will she. The curse will finally be lifted."

*** Forever ***

Henry was watchful for any changes in Jo from using his blood. Over the next week he watched as she gained strength daily and observed that everything was normal; nothing happened faster or slower than it should. She was able to leave the bed after the third day and slowly started moving around. As the pain lessened, her spirit soared. Henry was attentive but not smothering (a fact for which she was immensely grateful) and waited to help her when she asked.

She had finally convinced Henry to sleep at home and was watching TV when a strange older woman walked into her room. She made sure the call button was handy but didn't press it. "Hello."

The older woman smiled at her. "Hello, child," she said with a strong Southern accent. "So you are the One."

"I'm sorry. Do I know you? And I'm the one what?"

The woman laughed. "So many questions! Let me introduce myself. I am Marta Arceneaux."

"Hello, Miss Arceneaux. I'm Jo Martinez."

"Oh, I know you, Jo Martinez. You are the One." Jo looked at her in confusion. "Yes, you are the one to lift the curse."

"What curse?"

"The one cast on your mate's family over two hundred years ago...the one that has caused an innocent man much anguish…the one that should have been cast on his father. The one cast by my mother that was twice-cast."

"Are you talking about Henry?"

"Yes, child. Your mate, Henry Morgan. The man who was fated to live until he could find in the goodness of his heart to save another's life in spite of his fear...the one destined to save you."

Jo sat back trying to make sense of this. "So why did your mother curse Henry?"

The older woman took the seat that Henry usually sat in and began her tale. "My grandfather came from Africa on a ship owned by Henry's father. He was brought to Louisiana and made a slave. He was a proud man and when he and my grandmother had a daughter, he passed that pride to her. But she was not as wise as some and she began to practice the arts. She had heard her father talk about the slave ship and she created a curse to cause the ship owner much pain...only she did not know exactly how to do it. She created a ritual and cast her spell. The named person would not be allowed to die until they had given their lifeblood to save another.

"What she did not know was that she misspoke and named Henry Morgan instead of Harold Morgan, Henry's father. She also did not take into account that a sacrifice must be made. So when she cast her spell it worked but also rebounded onto her. She was doomed to be fifteen until the other fulfilled his part. Now that he has, she will age rapidly while he will age normally."

"So, let me get this straight. Your mother at age fifteen cursed Henry by mistake and it wouldn't be lifted until he bled for another. When he did then his curse would be lifted."

"That's it."

"So what does this mean for Henry?"

"He is no longer immortal." She took a white rose from her purse and put it on the table next to Jo's bed. "Rest now, child. You have saved him. Tell him what I have told you. I am going back home to Thibodaux to help my mother prepare."

Jo had so many questions but she suddenly felt so tired. She drifted off to sleep never seeing the woman leave.

*** Forever ***

Jo woke as Henry entered the room. She smiled at him. "Morning."

"Good morning, darling. Sleep well?"

She nodded. "I had the strangest dream, though."

"What about?"

"You. An old Cajun woman came to tell me that your curse had been lifted. Oh, and that you were accidentally cursed when it was meant for your father because he owned a slave ship. Weird." She looked at Henry who had paled. "Henry?"

He looked at her. "You said it was a dream?" She nodded. "Odd...I wonder...Do you remember anything else?"

Jo recited everything that she had been told. "And then she laid a white rose..." Jo looked over at the white rose sitting on her table. "Henry?"

"Josefina...I think it wasn't a dream. I've never told you my father's name was Harold. He was indeed involved with the transporting of slaves and that was the reason I renounced him. I wanted nothing to do with him after I found out."

"But, Henry...she said your curse was lifted."

He nodded. "There's one way to find out...but if it is there would be no way back."

"But you'll start aging again, won't you?"

His eyes widened. "That's right!" Then he looked at her and smiled. "You may just have to put up with me as I age."

She laughed. "I'll be aging right there with you remember?"

He leaned in and kissed her softly. "There's no one else I'd rather grow old with."

*** Forever ***

Later that week Jo was released from the hospital and elected to stay at her apartment. She gave Henry a key so that he could get in just in case she couldn't get to the door. They spent the next few weeks growing closer as she recuperated.

About a month after she was stabbed she was released for desk duty. She drove past the antique shop and picked up Henry and they made their way to work together. As they got off the elevator everyone started clapping and welcoming her back. She ducked and blushed at all the attention as she made her way to her desk to drop off her jacket and purse. Henry followed her and waited as she checked in with Reece. She knew the next couple of weeks would be tedious as she couldn't go out into the field. Henry still was needed and would bring her back stories of each case so that she could help theorize.

At the end of the day, Jo would stop in and see Abe and often stay for dinner. It was one evening almost six weeks after the stabbing that Jo noticed something strange about Henry. "Henry, stay still for a moment." She reached up into his hair and plucked one. She brought it down to in front of his eyes. His eyes widened as she giggled. "Henry...that's a gray hair!"


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Well here we have it. Every journey must end and ours does with this chapter. For those that took a moment to review, I thank you. Your comments help make my writing better. I rarely do this but this morning I took a look at the statistics for this story. At the time I post this, the story has 22 reviews and over 2500 people have at least looked at one chapter. So those that did review are in the top percent! Once again, thank you all for taking a moment to take this ride with me. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 9. In which Everything Old is New Again

_'Don't throw the past away_

_You might need it some rainy day_

_Dreams can come true again _

_When everything old is new again' - Peter Allen._

Henry looked stunned. He had a gray hair? He never had a gray hair!

Jo laughed at his expression. "Oh, come on, Henry! Why are you so vain?"

He looked at her and a smile broke out on his face. "I've got a gray hair!" He picked her up and swung her around before turning to Abe. "Abraham! I've got a gray hair!"

Abe rolled his eyes and pointed to his own head full of gray hairs. "It's not that exciting Dad."

Henry (who had become almost giddy at this point) sighed. "No, Abraham. I have _NEVER_ had a gray hair before. Do you know what this means?"

Abe's eyes widened as the realization hit him. "You're aging!"

Henry grinned. "Exactly!" Henry looked at Jo, who looked lost. "Josefina! The old woman...the curse. It's over!"

Jo smiled as she finally understood. "So what does this mean?"

Henry winked. "It means I'll be doing this more often." He pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Hey guys...keep it PG. There's a kid present, you know." Both Jo and Henry busted out laughing at Abe's pout.

"Sorry, Abraham."

"Sorry Abe." Jo couldn't help but laugh.

*** Forever ***

Henry walked with Jo back into the precinct once she had been cleared for field duty again. The case that they had been working on had stalled so they began working other cases until she could come back. Jo assisted the others in clearing the newer cases and returned to the Tchari case that afternoon.

"So have we found anything new?"

Mike nodded. "The REAL Mr. Tchari has turned up dead in Chad. We just got confirmation late yesterday. He died from malaria a couple of weeks before our impostor entered the US."

Henry looked up. "Did he die in a hospital?"

Mike looked at his notes. "Yeah...he died at the UNICEF clinic."

"Can we get them to provide us photos of their employees. I think our impostor may have worked there at the time if Tchari's death."

Jo looked at Henry then Mike. "It's worth a shot. See what you can find."

Two days later they received the photos and Henry was once again correct. The victim from their case was a 42 year old volunteer from Pakistan named Aradi Ben-Malak. He was a trained phlebotomist with ties to several terrorist organizations. This information was passed to Agent Collins and the NYPD closed their case.

*** Forever ***

Several weeks later found Jo and Henry at that same little Italian restaurant that was now a favorite of the both of them. Jo smiled as she took a sip of her wine. "Can you believe that it's been several months since we sat in this same restaurant and you asked me to go to the Jersey house with you?"

Henry smiled and put his hand on hers. "I feel like I've known you forever, Josefina. I can't imagine living without you. I have no idea what I would have done once you were gone if I were still cursed."

"Well, now you never have to worry about that, love."

Henry smiled each time she called him that. "Yes, that is definitely a good thing. You know, as long as I have lived I have always wondered how people figured out that someone was the one that they wanted to grow old with. I suppose since I didn't have that option I never really could understand it, you know?"

Jo smiled softly at him. "Well, no matter how old we become, there are always new things to learn and understand, Henry."

He chuckled. "I guess that the song Everything Old is New Again is apropos, isn't it?"

"So what brought on this introspection?"

"Well, with the changes that the lifting of the curse has brought on, I have had to reexamine a lot of things."

"That makes sense. A lot has changed for you...for us."

He looked up and smiled. "Exactly! You know, Josefina, you have become a beacon for me. You brought light back into my dreary existence and I do not know what I would do without you." Jo closed her eyes as tears pooled in the corners of them. She heard Henry stand and come next to her. "So, Josefina Maria Martinez, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Jo's eyes shot open and she gasped. Henry was down on bended knee with a ring in his hand and a pleading look on his face. She looked up at him and then back down to the ring. _Was this really happening? Could she take the chance on being hurt again if he died before she did? Could she take the chance on losing him without being his wife?_ In a moment of clarity she saw her life in front of her. She and Henry in a church...holding their children...growing old _together_.

Henry waited as he saw the emotions fly over her face. He watched as she closed her eyes and then the most beautiful smile broke out. "Yes, Henry. I'll marry you."

He let out a whoop and pulled her into a kiss as the room around them exploded into applause.

*** Forever ***

Jo sat on the park bench watching the children play as she waited. She played with the ring on her left hand as she watched the toddlers run back and forth being chased by their parents.

"Hello, Jo."

Jo looked up and smiled at her sister-in-law. "Hey, Rina. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Steve is working a lot but he's up for a promotion. The boys are in school. How have you been?"

"Really good. I'm sorry for not coming by very often. After Sean died I didn't know how to keep things together with you guys."

Rina softly smiled. "It's okay, Jo. Losing my brother was hard on all of us. We have missed you , though."

Jo nodded. "I've missed you too. How are your parents?"

She shrugged. "Doing okay I guess. Dad finally retired and Mom's grouching at him about being underfoot all the time." They looked at each other and chuckled.

Jo looked back at the kids running around. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Rina smirked. "Is it about that rock on your ring finger?"

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I got engaged earlier this week."

Rina pulled her hand over and looked at the ring. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks. Henry does have good taste."

"So...this Henry. How did you meet?"

"At work."

Rina laughed and winked. "Did you arrest him for something?"

Jo snorted. "No...he's the M.E. that usually gets assigned to my cases. He ended up as my unofficial partner and the brass liked how well we worked together. He's been assigned as a consultant to me for a while now and we really hit it off."

"An M.E.? So, he's a doctor?"

Jo nodded. "He's really good at what we do. He's also lost a spouse so he gets what I've gone through. Henry's a bit old fashioned and quirky; he makes me laugh and he's so loving."

Rina smiled. "You are so in love, aren't you?"

"Yeah. It helps that he's handsome too." She grinned. "But his heart is so big. He'd been hurt before and yet he was so open with me. We've talked about Sean and I can finally see the sunshine again."

"It sounds like he's good for you. I'd love to meet him."

Jo grinned. "Want to join us for lunch?"

Rina's eyes widened. "I'd hate to be a third wheel."

Jo stood and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we already made reservations."

Rina smirked. "That sure of yourself, were you?"

Jo shrugged. "Henry says I'm confident."

Rina rolled her eyes. "I know differently."

"Shhh. Don't give away all my secrets."

*** Forever ***

Henry had been seated and was waiting on Jo and her guest. Jo had not told him much about the person, only that she had grown close to them over the years. Henry took his time looking at the menu while he waited. He glanced up and saw Jo as she made her way into the restaurant. She was followed by a blond woman who appeared to be about the same age as her. The woman was fair complected and was svelte without being overly skinny. Henry stood as they approached.

Jo leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Henry, this is Katrina Schon. Rina, Henry Morgan."

Henry smiled and leaned over to kiss Rina's hand. "_Sie sind in der Tat schön_."

Jo raised an eyebrow and Rina laughed. "_Danke, Herr Morgan_." He grinned in return.

"How about explaining what you said to those of us that are not linguists, Henry."

"Sorry, love. I just said that she was indeed beautiful, as her name suggests; she thanked me."

They sat and Jo shook her head. "See, Rina? Henry's a charmer."

"And from Swansea if I'm not mistaken."

Henry grinned. "I was born just outside of Swansea. You have an excellent ear!"

Jo chuckled. "Rina is a linguist and often works for the UN as a translator."

"Yeah...Sean always said I could talk my way out of anything."

They both laughed and Rina turned to Henry. "I met Jo when she started dating Sean. I think she and I hit it off better than she and my brother."

Henry smiled. "It's great that you two have kept in touch."

Jo looked at Rina. "Well, some of us haven't done as well as we could have in that respect."

Rina rolled her eyes. "I know that it's been hard for you. I'm glad that you've had Henry to help you."

Henry grinned. "Well, helping her isn't always easy...she's a bit stubborn you know."

Rina nodded. "Boy do I know! She's mulish about some things."

"Hey now! Stop picking on me!" They all laughed and had a very enjoyable lunch while Rina and Henry got to know each other.

**_Epilogue_**

The next few months were busy for the detectives of the 11th and Jo managed to sneak another weekend in at the Jersey house; this time though they used one bedroom instead of two. They started planning their wedding and decided to just have a civil ceremony and a reception afterwards for their family and friends.

On the big day, Henry and Jo stood with their witnesses Abe and Rina before the officiant and said their vows. While not in a church, Jo still thought that it was beautiful. They signed their marriage certificate and paid their fees before heading to the hall they had rented for their party.

Years later they could not tell you much about that party even though they only had a couple of glasses of wine and champagne. They only had eyes for each other.

They had taken a week off for a honeymoon and Henry took Jo to his homeland as she had never been out of the country before. While there he told her about his childhood and inheritance. He explained to her that he had been investing for years and was very comfortable financially and that they could easily spend the rest of their lives using his available funds without running knew that much of Jo's hesitancy to have children was based on her time from when she was young and they didn't have much. After much discussion, they decided to have a family.

*** Forever **

Two years later, Melinda Renee was born. Her older brother Abraham missed her birth by six months. He passed quietly with Henry and Jo at his side. Henry had started going gray at the temples which made him happier than he could explain. Over the next three years, twins Jonah and Jacob joined their family. Jo retired and Henry joined her.

Finally, in 2040 Henry Morgan passed away at the official age of sixty one. His wife Josefina Morgan-Martinez followed him less than a year later. Henry had the joy to see his grandchildren born and to be married to the love of his life for twenty five years.

No one ever figured out Henry's secret.

FIN


End file.
